Memoria
by ReasonableName
Summary: "Why did you come with me?" "Only because I wanted to go with you." A JNPR centered story that branches off from end of Vol2/3. Heavily influenced by canon, but will follow a different storyline- JNPR's missions. Action/Romcom/whatever. Ships will be kept a secret, because that's fun (One starts with an A and ends with "kos"). All of RWBY's characters are in this story.
1. Ahead on Our Way

**In memory of Monty, who inspired us to make this. More at the end, please enjoy Ch1: Ahead on Our Way.**

* * *

" _And thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess… You're the kind of guy I wish I was here with. Someone who just saw me, for me."_

* * *

The inky navy colored sky grew darkest as midnight drew nigh. The dance had finally begun to die down, and the departing students thinned the dance floor down to only a handful of remaining teams. As they watched their fellow hunters and huntresses pass by, their aching feet and full bellies told JNPR it was time to follow the others' example an call it a night. They made sure to thank Weiss and Yang on the way out for their contributions to the event's setup, and then with smiling faces they began the short journey back to their room.

Nora made sure to fill the warm night air with energetic chatter as they walked, focusing most of it towards Ren as he regularly revised the story she was telling. Jaune smiled as he listened to Nora, chuckling as the number of "Ursa squished" increased yet again. Her voice faded into the background as his mind began to wander, and he focused more on the clicking of their shoes on the sidewalk. Jaune's head tilted slightly while he listened to his inner monologue.

' _Are dresses always this drafty?'_ He asked himself, letting his gaze shift up towards the stars. ' _Then again, why do I want to know?'_ He shook his head with a small smile, catching the attention of the red headed girl walking beside him. Pyrrha gazed at his smile for a few moments, blushing as she caught herself. She forced her eyes to look forward, hoping no one had seen her.

"What's so funny?" She asked him with an amused smile, confident her subtle gesture had gone unnoticed. Her clear voice pulled Jaune out of his daze, and he looked over at the girl walking with her hands behind her back.

"Hmm?" He replied, glancing over to look at his partner. Jaune noticed she didn't seem to be looking at him and glanced around in confusion, wondering if there was someone else who had joined them. Pyrrha giggled at his antics.

"Yes, I'm talking to you, Jaune." Pyrrha smirked and let her eyes meet his, causing him to return the grin.

"Oh. Well, you can never be too certain!" Jaune laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head when he saw Pyrrha's smile grow a little larger. "So, what was the question?"

"I was just wondering what was so funny?" Pyrrha asked again, matching the blonde boy's stride as she looked forward at Nora and Ren. "I caught you laughing at yourself again. Sure, you're funny, but now I'm starting to get a little worried." Jaune gave a slanted smirk and shrugged.

"Oh, I was just wondering if dresses were always this drafty in case I lose another bet and have to wear one again." The idea of Jaune having to wear another dress on a different occasion made Pyrrha giggle.

"Yes, they can be quite drafty at times." Pyrrha confirmed playfully for Jaune. The two partners let a silence fall between them, leaving only Nora's voice and Ren's occasional comment or two to persist. Jaune's face flushed as he felt soft hands wrap around his arm; glancing down he saw Pyrrha resting her cheek gingerly on his shoulder, and he looked away quickly trying desperately to hide his flustered reaction from the girl's keen, green-eyed gaze, much to her amusement.

"Jaune?"

"Y-Yes, Py-Pyrrha?" Jaune stammered, nearly tripping as his brain short-circuited; it took all he had to maintain his composure, however flimsy it may have been.

"Thank you, for tonight." Jaune then felt her head move side to side as she shook it, hearing her scoff softly. "No. Thank you, for everything. I will always remember this." The girl's tender words calmed the boy's racing heart. He stared down at her as they walked, noting how relaxed Pyrrha was being led by him as she walked with her eyes closed.

"You're w-welcome, Pyrrha. I'm just happy you had fun!" He managed, feeling both relieved and oddly disappointed as she gently released her hold on his arm and returned to walking at his side.

"It was a great time, Jau-!" Pyrrha stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening as she froze in place. Jaune looked back at her, watching her face blush under the pale light of the street lamps. Following her gaze, Jaune's eyes fell upon both Ren and Nora; they had stopped talking and now stood with their arms crossed and grins plastered across their faces. Nora's smile widened as she watched Pyrrha squirm in embarrassment, and the orange haired girl tilted her face towards Ren smugly.

"Told you it was happening, Ren."

* * *

Arriving at the dormitory felt like it took much longer than it should've; the awkward silence hanging above them seemed as though it enveloped the four within a sphere where time did not exist. Nora's fits of giggling laughter didn't help the situation at all, nor her refusal to tell Jaune what exactly she meant by "it's happening."

Upon walking into the room, the sight of Jaune's discarded suit lying crumpled on his bed caused the NPR of JNPR to smirk in stifled laughter. Their expressions soon turned to those of exhaustion, and each of the four collapsed onto their beds with relieved sighs.

"Alright," Jaune groaned face-first into his mattress, "who wants the shower first?"

"You should go first, Jauney!" Nora exclaimed, sitting up, "after all, you're the worst looking girl in the room, you should probably clean up a little." The chuckles of Pyrrha and Ren caused Jaune to blush, and he quickly rose from his bed and darted towards the room's bathroom.

"I won't be long!" The door clicked behind the blonde and Pyrrha let out another sigh of fatigue, falling backwards onto her bed with her arms splayed outward.

"What a night," she stated, drawing a hand across her forehead gingerly before letting it rest by her cheek, "I never would have thought he'd actually wear a dress."

"Really?" Nora contended, "I wasn't all too surprised at all."

"Neither was I." Ren agreed, "Although I must admit it did take some serious guts to do it. He's braver than I." The magenta eyed boy nodded his head in respectful approval, opening an eye to shoot a glance at Nora from across the room. As if rehearsed their eyes locked, prompting Nora to take the cue to leap from her bed to Pyrrha's. She landed in a seated position, drawing a rather cute yelp from a startled Pyrrha. The red head jolted up, supporting herself on her elbows as she looked at the determined teal eyes of the girl now nestled in her lap.

"Uh, Nora? May I help you?" Pyrrha asked, the look in Nora's eyes inciting a feeling of slight trepidation within Pyrrha.

"What?" Nora asked with narrowed eyes and a sly grin, "Would you rather it be our "fearless leader" in this position?" The sight of Pyrrha's blush deepening stretched Nora's grin wider. She leaned forwards eagerly, causing Pyrrha to raise an arm in instinctual defense.

"W-what are you saying so suddenly? What if he hears..." Pyrrha trailed of as she noticed her friend's expression become more serious.

"So..." Nora began, crawling backwards to the end of Pyrrha's bed, "even after all that happened tonight, you still couldn't tell him?" Pyrrha averted her eyes at the girl's question.

"I-I, well, you see-" She stammered, attempting to find an excuse. Nora's expression turned sour, and she turned to Ren with a pout.

"She didn't do it." Nora grumbled to her partner in disappointment before sitting back with her arms crossed. "Seriously Pyr? Do you need _any_ more of an opportunity?"

"I was going to!" Pyrrha defended meekly, "I told him most… b-but, what if he just doesn't… feel that way back? It would have been too awkward!"

"He came to the dance wearing a dress," Ren reiterated, "I'm sure you two would have been fine, regardless."

"Yeah, but-" Pyrrha stopped herself as Nora gave her a warm smile.

"Did you have a good night?" The orange haired girl asked, falling back and staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes. it was amazing." Pyrrha answered, allowing a smile to form and grateful Nora was letting her off the hook. "He made it so."

"Well, by the looks of it," Nora added, turning her head and eyeing over the assortment of clothing all over Jaune's bed, "I'd say he had a great time, too."

Despite his best efforts the huff that escaped Ren's lungs wasn't quite silent enough to escape the girls' notice, who turned towards him in curiosity.

"I didn't say anything. Stop looking at me..." He asserted calmly; his preemptively raised defenses piqued Nora's immediate interest, and the girl squinted her eyes at him suspiciously. Ren maintained his stoic composure as the girl crept up towards him, waggling her finger threateningly in his direction.

"What do you know!?" She demanded, "Tell us!"

"It's nothing." Ren insisted, but Nora wasn't about to relent. Pyrrha got up and placed a hand on Nora's shoulder.

"Nora, it's okay, he said he doesn't know any-"

"No." Nora maintained, "You don't know Ren like I do. He knows something, and I know just how to get him to talk." Slowly Nora brought her hands up, making "claws" out of her fingers. "Don't make me do it, Ren." She threatened. Ren remained still, his body showing no signs of concern. However, Pyrrha noted his eyes had a subtle but unmistakable look of tension as they darted back and forth between Nora's outstretched hands.

"Alright, you asked for it!" Nora's claws shot forward, aiming for Ren's sides. In one swift motion Ren shot his forearms up to deflect the oncoming tickle attack, leaping up and back away from the girls before Nora could try a second time. He landed on his bed and pat down his shirt, shaking his head at Nora as she raised her hands and waggled her fingers menacingly.

"Fine." Ren yielded with a sigh. A strange expression flashed across his face for a brief moment. this time piquing Pyrrha's curiosity. "In the interest of her _not_ doing that, I'll tell you what I saw." Ren took another look at the bathroom door, affirming that their blonde leader wouldn't be walking out to hear their conversation. Once convinced they were safe he turned back to Pyrrha, his magenta eyes meeting her emerald ones. "After we ate, you and Nora went up to go dance with Sun, Blake and Yang," he began, "Jaune and I stayed back because he thought it'd be a good idea to raid the buffet some more. He ate 6 sandwiches- how he did so, I'm unsure. And, well…" Ren shrugged his shoulders, unsure if he was even betraying Jaune's trust or not, "Despite the buffet's best efforts, it was you who held his full attention. He couldn't keep his eyes off of you, and he was wearing the goofiest smile you've ever seen. Well, until I let him know he had a piece of meat stuck in his teeth." Ren's news made Nora frown before she burst into laughter.

"That's IT!?" She exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air, "That's the big reveal? Seriously?"

"I never said anything about a big reveal... it was just an observation."

"Oh, but that's just so lame! He was just looking at her? That's not THAT big a deal, right Pyr..." Pyrrha sat frozen, her face bright red as her eyes sparkled triumphantly. Noting Pyrrha's comically jubilant expression, Nora shook her head and shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"Crushes are so gross." She scoffed.

"It seems it was a big deal after all..." Ren whispered to Nora somewhat smugly, taking enjoyment in the girl's huffed expression. The bathroom door handle began to turn, and Nora took the time to stick her tongue out at Ren before turning towards a steam-followed, toweled Jaune.

Jaune rolled his shoulders as a soft sigh of relaxation escaped his lips. Smiling happily with his white dress in hand, he gestured over his shoulder to the open door. "Don't worry, there's plenty of hot water left!" He raised his hand and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "At least, I think there is." His teammates watched him in amusement as he slowly made his way to his bed, placing the dress at the edge of it neatly before plopping himself down; despite the now vacant bathroom, none of the other three made a move to claim the spot for next to shower. Nora suddenly jumped up once more, throwing her arms around Pyrrha. The orange haired girl grinned devilishly, inching her face close to Pyrrha's before whispering into the red head's ear. Nora giggled as Pyrrha's back stiffened a bit, then sent her on her way to the bathroom with a gentle push from behind.

"You're next!" Nora declared loudly, taking a seat back on her bed. Pyrrha paused for a second, but then nodded in thanks before slipping into the bathroom. Nora waited patiently for the lock to click and the water to start running before setting her sights on Jaune, who had just finished pulling his shirt over this torso. The blonde turned around to find both of his teammates staring at him. Surprised, he felt his face to make sure there was nothing on it; after deeming himself "blemish free," he looked down at his clothing to inspect it.

"Is… something wrong with my pajamas?" He asked, hoping he hadn't put them on backwards or inside out again.

"No." Nora answered, crossing her arms. "We're just happy for you!"

"Why's that?" Jaune scratched his head, unsure of what exactly his teammates were getting at.

"What you did for Pyrrha tonight," Ren clarified, "We're happy you did something about that."

"She seemed a little down, it was the least I could do- but what do you mean by 'about that'?" Jaune quizzed, "Of course I would honor the bet we made. She's my friend!" Nora furrowed her brow a bit and cocked her head to the side.

"That's it?" Nora argued, "That's the only reason you did that? To keep a bet with your _friend_?"

"Well, yeah. I wanted all my friends to have fun together, and I did make her that promise after all. It was only fair." Jaune replied with a triumphant smile, "Why else would I do it?" Ren and Nora looked at each other, their dejected expressions telling each other how disappointing it was to have their assumptions be proven false. Jaune took no notice of their plight, and continued smiling happily.

"Oh, you know... this and that..." Nora mumbled as she tried to hide her annoyance at her leader's continued clueless behavior. "We're just happy you did it. It really made the night, especially for Pyrrha." Ren recognized the tenuously aggressive lilt in his partner's voice as she said Pyrrha's name and swiftly reacted to prevent any escalation.

"And now we know you'll always keep your word." Ren commented as he put his hands on Nora's shoulders. Jaune nodded decisively as he crossed his arms.

"That's right! An Arc never goes back on his word!" Jaune exclaimed, aiming a thumb towards himself. Ren nodded and began to take off his suit and button down, but Nora hesitated and waited for Jaune to become distracted. When she saw him look into his desk drawer, she briskly walked to the bathroom door and rattled her knuckles on it a couple times.

"Save some hot water for us, jeez!"

* * *

Pyrrha looked up, the warm water rinsing the apple scented shampoo from her hair. The sound of two knocks and Nora's voice finally came, and she mischievously smirked.

" _Save some hot water for us, jeez!"_ Pyrrha heard Nora yell, the phrase Nora had previously whispered for her to listen for. Following her friend's instructions Pyrrha focused her aura and channeled it into her inner ear to augment her hearing. She paused for a moment, wondering if this was morally okay to do. After mulling it over she dismissed her concern and blocked out all noises not associated with the voices coming from the next room.

" _So, Jaaaauune,"_ she heard Nora say in a sly tone, " _I have another question."_

" _Sure, Nora! What's up?"_ Jaune complied happily. Pyrrha could hear the slight rustle of paper along with his voice; she shook her head, knowing he was reading X-Ray and Vav.

" _What exactly do you think about Pyrrha?"_ Pyrrha stiffened at the sudden inquiry; even though she had basically inferred Nora intentions from the girl's behavior it was still plenty embarrassing. Time felt stagnant as Pyrrha awaited Jaune's response.

" _Oh, she's great,"_ Jaune answered, making Pyrrha blush slightly. She could hear him turn another page of his comic. " _She's the most helpful person on this planet! She also hasn't given up on me yet, which is surprising. She a great warrior, and she's super strong, like seriously, she could totally lift a car, or maybe an elephant-"_

" _Yeah, yeah we know all that! It's totally an elephant!"_ Nora interrupted anxiously, " _But what elllllse do you think about her?"_

" _What do you mean?"_ Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat as she heard his voice tremble a bit.

" _I dunno. I'm just curious, because you went through a lot of trouble just to make her smile tonight. So… describe her! Who is she to you?"_ The Mistralian was unsure how far Nora was willing to push this for her sake, but it felt as though this was enough. Besides, Pyrrha still thought eavesdropping like this wasn't right; unfortunately, she knew that if she stopped now she would torment herself wondering what Jaune's response was.

" _Describe her? Well… she's tall, has red hair, green eyes-"_

" _No, idiot! Describe what you THINK about her, not stuff we know!"_ Nora barked loudly, making Pyrrha's ears screech a little. Silence overcame her for a moment, before Jaune spoke again.

" _Oh. Well, she's really nice. The nicest person ever, actually. And like I said, she's helped me so much; she's a natural at solving problems. My problems, mostly. She's smart, funny… a-and she's really pretty! She's really… what's the word? Elegant! She's very elegant. I still can't believe no one asked her to the dance! But... she's great friend, and I'm glad she's my partner. I'd never want anyone else."_

Pyrrha clutched both her hands close to her chest in happiness as she smiled shamelessly. She released the aura from her ears and relaxed, standing blissfully in the steady stream of water as it flowed down her body. While Jaune did not say explicitly what she hoped for, hearing his kind words still filled her with happiness.

"Thank you, Nora." She whispered to herself, allowing only a couple of seconds to pass before reaching for her bar of soap and finishing her shower. To her, the night couldn't get much better; unless, of course, Jaune could just take a hint for once and maybe see her as more than just another friend.

The rest of the night transpired as would any other; each of the four went about their own business, whether it be playing games on a scroll, maintaining gear, or checking their calendar. While no one said it out loud, there was something that had them quietly buzzing inside with excitement. This would be the week they started their missions.

* * *

"Oh man, Goodwitch looks _piiiiissed..._ " Nora whispered as she and the rest of her team stood beside RWBY, CFVY, and half of SSSN, drawing muffled snickers from Sun and Yang. Alongside them stood Professors Port and Oobleck, who straightened their postures along with their students as Goodwitch drew closer. They relaxed as her scowl softened enough to be considered friendly.

"Good work, all of you." She complimented as she looked around at everyone, "Thanks to your efforts the breach was... manageable, and casualties were minimized. Not to mention we also managed to take Roman Torchwick into custody."

Goodwitch paused, her expression becoming stern again. "Having said that, you're all required to return to the academy at once. Now, if you please, there are airships ready and waiting to fly you back." As quickly as she had arrived she was gone, already aboard one of the said airships and flying off with Oobleck and Port. CFVY also waved goodbye as they boarded their airship for departure. With only one ship left, RWBY, JNPR, Sun and Neptune looked at each other.

"Dibs!" cried Sun and Neptune suddenly with raised right hands, lowering them slowly as the others glared at them. "Orrrr not. We're junior detectives anyways! We don't need your fancy, dumb ships!" With that the pair let out a hoot before fist bumping and running off.

"Guess we'll see ya around!" Sun yelled, waving as he and Neptune turned down the main street back towards the center of town. Teams RWBY and JNPR returned the gesture, and then maintained their stares to the single, team-sized airship.

"So who gets it?" Yang asked, looking at her teammates, "I think, y'know, considering we _were_ here first, we should get the last airship out. And by that I mean it's mine."

"I agree." Weiss added, "We've been run through the mill these past couple of nights."

"It would be nice if you let us have it." Blake remarked, her fatigue blatantly obvious to team JNPR.

"I mean, I'm not gonna argue," Jaune announced, "You guys deserve it, we can just walk to the nearest airport! Right guys?" He turned to his team, who were no longer behind him but instead crowded around Zwei.

"I want him." Nora stated bluntly. "I'm willing to pay 20 Lien."

"No, he's not for sale…" Ruby insisted loudly, Nora's piercing eyes unsettling her a bit.

"25."

"S-sorry, no can do!"

"He is quite a cutie." Pyrrha observed, scratching behind Zwei's ear, "Ruby, is the school okay with him living there?"

"Prof- I mean, Dr. Oobleck said he's going to put in a request for a permit to let him live with us!" Ruby answered, "Apparently teams can have pets, as long as they're approved by the school." She watched as Ren, Nora and Pyrrha pet Zwei, who seemed to be enjoying the extra attention.

"That's great to know." Ren said, looking up towards Jaune. The blonde shrugged and chuckled, amused that his team was so easily incapacitated by a cute animal; especially Ren, who seemed to be mesmerized by the little corgie.

"We'll look into it," JNPR's leader said, "But for now let's head home, I'm beat." The rest of his team nodded in agreement, saying their goodbyes to team RWBY and Zwei before making their way through town and to the airship port.

Arriving, Jaune could already feel his stomach churn as he took his first step onto the vehicle, and he had to assist himself by leaning against the hull.

"Already? We haven't even started moving…" Pyrrha commented, watching the boy lean against the back wall of the small transport ship and slide down it.

"I know..." he groaned weakly.

The ride back home wasn't nearly as taxing as Jaune had anticipated it would be. He had only thrown up a little bit after they arrived, which was a vast improvement from last time when Ren was forced to rub his back for a solid two minutes. Ren swiped his student ID down his team's door lock, and the four walked inside with a sigh. The pale orange sunlight glowed softly in through the window, and the slight breeze was enough for the room to be a perfect temperature. After putting their things away the four crashed onto their beds, each thinking about the day's unexpected turn of events.

"Sorry about having to change the mission, guys." Jaune suddenly said, breaking the comfortable silence among them.

"Sorry for what?" Nora asked, sitting up on her bed. "I had fun!" Jaune shook his head at his teammate's odd definition of "fun."

"I think you did the right thing, Jaune." Pyrrha reassured. "They needed us, and you led excellently."

"Yep." Ren added. "It was obvious where our priorities had to go. We'll do the village next time."

"Thanks, guys." Jaune breathed in relief, "I'm glad you all think so."

JNPR took the time to get in some much needed rest and relaxation; Jaune and Nora both drifted off to sleep for a nap whilst Pyrrha and Ren casually studied for their Grimm Studies class. After an hour or so Pyrrha went to wake up her two snoring teammates in order for them go down and get dinner together, but before the group had even left the room they each received an alert on their scroll. Ren read the message aloud as they all pulled out their buzzing devices simultaneously, "Team JNPR. You are all hereby ordered to report to headmaster Ozpin's office. Immediately." He looked to Jaune and shook his head. "You're in troublllllllle."

* * *

JNPR looked around in wonder at Ozpin's office. Behind them, the two Beacon guards posted outside closed the large, wooden double doors the team had just passed through only moments before. Now standing in the middle of the circular room, the four gazed at the decor, mesmerized by what they saw. Above them a full glass ceiling let them see into the clock tower's inner workings, and they watched as massive copper gears turned and spun. Similar gears were also visible through openings in certain parts of the wall and made for a room that felt busy and alive. At the back of the room stood Ozpin, standing idly as he sipped his coffee; it took them a few moments to realize the window he was looking out of was actually the face of the clock tower, and as they approached him Ozpin turned his head slightly in their direction to acknowledge their presence.

Ozpin had already given a school wide announcement to the general student body via the speaker system addressing the events that had transpired that evening, so Jaune wondered what he could want with them. They had passed their friends in team RWBY on the way in, so Jaune knew they had met with him beforehand. JNPR reached Ozpin's desk, lining up and standing at attention stiffly as Ozpin turned towards them.

"No need to be so formal, team JNPR. Relax." The four students relaxed their tense muscles, grateful they wouldn't have to hold such an uncomfortable pose the entire meeting.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" Jaune asked, receiving a nod from Ozpin as the headmaster settled into his chair.

"Yes. I wish to know why you didn't go on your mission, and instead went to assist team RWBY?" Ozpin's question made Jaune's stomach sink; after all that reassurance from his team, it seemed his decision was a mistake after all. Doing his best to display himself as a capable leader, Jaune decided to commit wholly to his decision.

"T-that was because of me. It was my decision to help team RWBY." Jaune said as confidently as he could, "There were sirens going off. Not only that, but last night I had received a strange call from Ruby's scroll. I couldn't shake the suspicion that something was wrong, so I... I made the call to assist Vale over going on our mission." Jaune lowered his head a little. "I'm sorry, I should hav-"

"Why would you be sorry?" Ozpin asked with a grin, drawing surprised looks from the group. "You made the right choice as a leader and went to assist your colleagues. I would have done the same." Jaune felt a crushing weight lift off his shoulders and smiled as his team flashed him looks of encouragement.

"Thank you, sir."

"However, now we must get back to business." Ozpin activated a holographic screen on his desk, the display containing all the pertinent information concerning JNPR's original mission. "Earlier today we received multiple worrisome reports from the village you were meant to go to. It seems the situation is dire, and the Grimm infestation there is much greater than we previously thought. I am sending the full report to your scrolls now, so please make sure to review it thoroughly before arriving at the village."

"Yes sir." JNPR confirmed in unison.

"When will we be departing?" Jaune then asked, pulling the file up on his scroll and reading through it, "Tomorrow morning? It says we need to prepare for an overnight stay."

"Hmm?" Ozpin replied, "Oh, no. Due to the drastic nature of the situation we can't afford to waste time. Your airship leaves in approximately 45 minutes." Ozpin grinned mischievously over his steaming mug. "I'd run if I were you."

" _45 MINUTES_!?" JNPR cried in shock, following Ozpin's advice and bolting out of the room back towards their dorm to pack. Ozpin chuckled to himself as they sprinted away, taking another sip of his coffee while he slowly turned his chair and returned his gaze to the bright cityscape visible through his office's enormous window.

"Are you sure about this, Ozpin?" Goodwitch's voice sounded across the room as she walked through the doors to his office. Ozpin continued to look out his window as the sound of Goodwitch's heels clicking on the floor drew closer, taking another sip before responding.

"Always the worry wart, Glynda. You saw what they did out there today, did you not?"

"I'm serious, Ozpin. From what those reports say, the mission changed. This is no longer a mission such an inexperienced team should be undergoing alone. Even taking into account their performance in today's attacks." Goodwitch placed a hand on Ozpin's desk, her voice lowering a bit, "Are you truly certain they're up to the task?" Ozpin remained stoic, his eyes scanning the city lights.

"I'm not sure. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

JNPR crashed into their room, scrambling through their belongings in a frenzy to pack all the essentials they thought would be needed before bursting back out the door and hastily making their way to the airship docks. Upon arrival Jaune collapsed in a panting heap, the most winded of the four by far. He looked up at the starry night sky as he tried to catch his breath. JNPR checked their scrolls, relieved that their efforts had allowed them arrive a full ten minutes before departure.

"My sides are going to split," Jaune moaned as he lay still wheezing on the stone floor, "I'm going to die."

"Don't die on us just yet, captain," Pyrrha cheered, "Our first mission hasn't even begun!"

"Yeah, Jauney. That would be really embarrassing if you died before the mission even started!" Nora agreed, putting a finger to her chin, "You should wait for a dramatic moment during the mission where you can sacrifice yourself to save the rest of us!" Nora gave out a small squeak as Ren landed a light chop to the top of her head.

"It's not in good taste to speak of our leader's untimely demise right before a mission, Nora." Nora stuck her tongue out cutely, winking one eye before bonking the side of her head.

"Oops, sorry Jaune! It's only because, well, you're you!" Nora apologized, making Jaune laugh as he sat himself up and felt his breathing return to normal.

"It's fine, and I know. We're all just excited. It's our first ever mission as JNPR after all." With a determined grin he looked over at Ren.

"Told you we'd help this village, Ren." He said.

"I didn't doubt you for a minute. An Arc always keeps his word, right?" Ren's words filled Jaune with determination, but his confident smile began to fade as he watched their grey airship come into view. His stomach turned as it drew closer and closer before landing next to them.

' _Twice in one day? Come on…'_ He thought, taking a deep breath and drawing in confidence.

"Team JNPR's first mission," Jaune said, nodding to his teammates while he fought his nausea, "Let's do this, guys!" The airship's side doors opened and the four climbed aboard as one of the pilots beckoned towards them. Jaune quickly tossed his bag into the cargo hold before taking his seat; he gripped the padded seats tightly as the ship reverberated. Before he could brace himself the ship took off, and his teammates watched in sympathy as he was instantly overwhelmed with airsickness.

"Seriously..?"

* * *

 **Hello, everyone. If you're reading this, good- we're (my editor and I) trying something new. We're excited to write this story. It will follow canon heavily, however, it will be a parallel story primarily focusing on, you guessed it, JNPR. It will follow their missions, add new enemies, and branches off of Vol2. Vol. 3 characteristics will absolutely be here. Yes, everyone else will be in as well. As for ships, you will have to wait and see.**

 **We'd categorize this as action/romcom/whatever who cares! Hope you enjoyed, and PLEASE review if you can. Positive or negative, we like to hear what you have to say.**

 **Next chapter out soon, if you all like it. Thanks!**


	2. Mission 1: Village of Dali

**Hey, A/N at end for information on this story. Enjoy.**

* * *

" _ **You were the first person to ever believe in me. You know that?"**_

The breach had caused a heightened state of alert, which put assets such as airships on constant standby, within the city. Ironwood's new policies regarding the festival called for more airship patrols, and this meant most of the newer models were in use. The one JNPR had boarded at Beacon was only transporting them to another dock at the city's edge where they would board, much to Jaune's displeasure, a much older model; while the older models in service were thoroughly maintained, the difference in technology between them and the current models, especially in terms of safety features and flight stabilization, was significant. Their top speed was also lower than the newer models, although that was countered by a greater fuel tank capacity. Still, the slower ship meant they wouldn't arrive at their destination until dawn even without stopping to refuel.

JNPR's destination was a small village named Dali, located roughly 1000 kilometers away from Vale. With plenty of time to spare the team spent the time getting whatever sleep they needed in between checking their gear and discussing the potential threats they might encounter once on the ground; Ren and Nora had begun a friendly bet as to who would be the first to save Jaune. Pyrrha, at first believing it to be in bad taste and chastising the two, eventually put 10 Lien on herself as her partner groaned miserably from his seat.

When the nervous pre-op chatter finally died down, Pyrrha and Ren made themselves busy by studying the mission intel thoroughly; the other two were less productive, however, as Nora played games on her scroll while Jaune suffered in quiet agony by himself. The actual reports of the Grimm incidents recorded were scarce and vague, failing to specify how the attacks happened or even the Grimm class in question. What they were provided with was that the attacks started less than two weeks ago, but the part that made Ren and Pyrrha raise their eyebrows was the section stating that multiple villagers had been "taken away" during attacks.

"Taken away?" Ren commented curiously, "Is that supposed to be a euphemism?"

"It's unclear. Why would they do something like that in the official report, though?" Pyrrha responded with a shrug, "Either way, it seems we're going to have our hands full here." Ren only gave a curt nod in agreement before putting his scroll away. Pyrrha did the same before looking over at Nora, who had managed to fall asleep with her scroll on her lap. Pyrrha gazed out at the still inky black sky, and, with a while to go before reaching their destination, tried her best to get some rest.

* * *

The airship's engines whined as it began its ascension upwards, leaving behind JNPR and their belongings in the forest clearing. The pilot gave one final wave before veering off and flying away. Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren all waved back, while a still suffering Jaune lay weakly with his face in the grass. Slowly he propped himself up with his arms, shaking his head while on all fours.

"Vehicles suck." NPR looked on while their leader clutched at tufts of wet grass desperately as if to reassure himself he was on the ground. Eventually, Pyrrha reached out her hand to him with a smile.

"Let's go Jaune. We can't stay here all day." she teased playfully. Jaune forced a pained grin, taking her hand and using it to lift himself up to his feet. He took a couple deep breaths, savoring the crisp air before clearing his throat.

"Th-that wasn't that bad! I barely puked at all this time!" Jaune was met only with the half-hearted and rather unenthusiastic cheers of his comrades. His shoulders slumped in defeat, Jaune pointed forwards. "L-let's just get moving..."

The four worked their way through the tall grass of the clearing and into a small opening in the trees, finding a thin but pronounced path. The forest boasted a surprisingly diverse amount of flora, with colorful flowers and bushes scattered all throughout the dense viridian foliage which encompassed them. The trail led them through the trees to a large and fairly well maintained dirt road. Jaune noticed a sign across from them indicating the village they were looking for lay down the road to the left. Following the sign's instruction the four soon came upon the village's outskirts. Before them was a rudimentary but sturdy wall made of large logs, many sharpened at the ends; the defensive barrier looked to stretch the entirety of the town's perimeter, and was easily over four meters high. The wall's height made it impossible for the group to see much in town, except for the dark roofing shingles of the buildings and the tall spire-like clock tower which rose from the center of town. They continued forward towards the wall's small gate, noticing that the road gradually transitioned from dirt to cobble; before them the two guards manning the gate eyed them warily. Before JNPR could pass through the gate the two ironclad guards stepped forward defensively, their hands on their weapons.

"Who are you?" one guard asked, "Kids like you shouldn't be wandering around here. It's dangerous," The guard then took notice of their attire, squinting his eyes suspiciously. "Wait, are you…"

"We're here f-for the Grimm troubles you've been having?" Jaune stated coming forward, "W-We're team JNPR, coming to assist you. I'm Jaune, the leader. This is Nora, Ren, and my partner, Pyrrha." Jaune and his team reached out to shake the guards' hands, but they were met with the same looks of doubt.

"You're the hunters from Beacon?" The other guard asked, more of a statement than a question. The disappointment in his voice was apparent, and made Jaune even more nervous. "They sent us a bunch of kids?"

"What's wrong with that?" Nora blurted, receiving a nudge from Ren. Jaune stiffened, his heart beating faster than ever. Pyrrha subtly placed her hand on his back to calm him, making sure the guards did not notice the gesture or her partner's anxiety.

"Well… we were under the impression they'd be sending actual Hunters… not…" Pyrrha suddenly spoke up, interrupting the guard mid-sentence.

"I assure you we are most certainly _real_ Hunters and are more than qualified to help your town, but if our age is that much of an issue perhaps it would be better for us to leave and wait for an older team to be available to help..." The guard took a moment to scan the team, gritting his teeth bitterly.

"...Right. We aren't in much of a position to deny help." He turned, and pointed to the large brick building with the clock tower rising from the center. "Speak to the mayor. He'll likely be in the town hall," the guard continued with a distressed sigh, "He's a bit... shaken up, but he should be able to brief you with the situation. Now that you're here, I guess we can get back to work." The guards nodded to one another and opened the gates, letting team JNPR enter the town. As soon as the four had passed through the gates the guards followed them inside, closing the gate before running off to the left and followed the road between two buildings. Jaune noticed that, unlike his previous assumption, the wall was actually still incomplete and being constructed; to the west a large crowd worked feverishly, stacking and securing logs to close the still sizable gap between the two ends of the wall.

"What's their problem?" Nora asked, crossing her arms. "So much for a warm welcome."

"Despite their best efforts, their desperation was obvious." Ren said, "and they seemed to be in a hurry. I've never seen anyone that anxious to go back to work."

"It seems we haven't met their expectations." Pyrrha noted. Nora shrugged her shoulders, grinning with her eyes closed. "I dunno, maybe it was because Jauney here still had some drool on his face." As Jaune embarrassedly rubbed his face clean the other three laughed at his antics. Jaune composed himself, confident his face was now clean and presentable.

"Whatever the reason, I don't think it'll help us to continue wondering. We should head to the town hall and figure out what's going on." Jaune began walking forward into town only to be yanked backwards by a firm grim in the back of his hood.

"What was that for!?" He cried, rubbing his neck as he turned his head. Nora stood there with her arms crossed, an agitated pout on her face.

"Jauuune… I don't wanna carry this stuff anymore…" Nora lamented as she swung her bag back and forth. Jaune laughed with a shake of his head, motioning towards her luggage.

"Oh, come on Nora, you carry a giant hammer around like nothing. A few more minutes of…" Jaune trailed off as he saw the light fade from Nora's eyes; he felt something utterly terrifying behind the blank, glassed over expression Nora now aimed at him. He averted his gaze, chuckling nervously as he scratched his head. "I m-mean, uh, yeah! Let's go drop off our things at the inn! Great i-idea, Nora!" Nora's cyan eyes returned to normal instantly, sparkling in happiness at her leader's words. Jaune sighed in relief and the four began walking down the main street into town. They stopped in front of a two-story Victorian style building made of brick and wooden logs, taking the time to both admire the architecture and confirm it was the right place before entering.

* * *

The lobby was warm and inviting; a simple but attractive chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling and in the corner of the room a stone fireplace burned quietly, adorned by a small sitting area. Directly in front of the four stood a small older lady. She smiled at them from behind the counter, waiting patiently for them to make their way over. Jaune cleared his throat and walked over to her with a smile and a small wave; the woman returned his gesture.

"Hello, dears, and welcome. What can I do for you four?" Jaune leaned against the counter, trying his best to look like a confident leader.

"We have a room reserved here. I'll checking in with my partners." She took a long look at the four before leaning in towards Jaune and Ren; cupping a hand around her mouth she whispered softly to them. "If you're looking for 'that' kind of hotel, I can't help you here. Plus, you all seem a bit young."

Jaune and Ren flushed a deep crimson, reeling backwards at the woman's destructively embarrassing words; behind them Pyrrha and Nora did the same, having overheard the lady.

"I, uh... w-we're not... I mean, um..." Jaune struggled desperately to calm down enough to explain the misunderstanding but fared as poorly as his shocked companions. "It's not like that, miss, I swear!" he blurted feverishly, finally able to articulate a cohesive sentence. The woman placed a finger on her bottom lip pensively, pursing her lips before casually pointing over towards the two girls.

"But then why are these two wearing such short skirts? And the red haired one's shoulders are so exposed."

Pyrrha instinctively reached her hands up to her shoulders, frowning slightly before addressing the lady.

"It's for mobility's sake... I don't want to be restricted." she explained, suddenly jerking up to continue her thought after a few moments, "I-in combat, I mean!"

"Oh, combat huh? So you are hunters or something of the sort, then?"

"Yes!" the four shouted in unison. The quad stood frozen as they watched the innkeeper place her hand on her chin and nod slowly, hopeful she finally grasped the situation properly. Eyes closed, she scrunched her face as if on the verge of a breakthrough; without warning the old lady shot one eye open, flashing an impish grin at the team before bursting into a fit of laughter.

More confused than ever, JNPR watched in awe as the woman wiped tears from her eyes. She straightened her blouse before turning back towards them, and she bowed her head slightly before speaking.

"I'm sorry, you must be terribly puzzled at my strange behavior. To be honest, I knew who you all were when you walked in."

"Wait, but then what was all of that about?" Nora asked with a discontented frown. The woman tilted her head in amusement, putting up her hands apologetically.

"It's been so long since this town's had visitors, I couldn't help but have a bit of fun. Especially with a group of youngsters like you." The four hunters groaned and slumped their shoulders, bewildered the inn keep had taken them for such a ride. The woman bowed again in respectful apology.

"I hope you can forgive this old woman for having a laugh at your expense." Jaune shook his head dismissively.

"It's fine, really. Just a harmless prank, right? Don't worry about it miss..." he trailed off, realizing he didn't even know this woman's name. The innkeeper placed a hand over her mouth, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, my. I've caused all this fuss and haven't even shown enough courtesy to introduce myself." she took a moment to move a few locks of silver hair from her face, "My name, dears, is Abigail."

"Nice to meet you, Abigail." Pyrrha responded, nudging Jaune with her elbow.

"Ah! Yes, nice to, um, make your acquaintance!" Jaune rubbed his arm sheepishly, his facade of bravado cleanly stripped away, "Can we maybe have our room key now?" Abigail nodded, turning and making her way over to a cork board behind her. She plucked a key off one of the many pegs and placed it on the counter, sliding it towards JNPR.

"Here you go, dears." she pointed a finger towards her left at a flight of stairs, "You're staying in room 210 on the second floor. It'll be to your left." she placed her hands together and set them atop the counter gently, lowering her gaze a bit, "I do hope you can enjoy your stay." Thanking Abigail, JNPR made their way towards the stairs. Pyrrha looked back, letting the others go ahead of her as she returned to the front desk.

"Hey, how did you know we were the hunters?" Pyrrha asked curiously. Abigail grinned, an odd feeling of sadness masked behind it.

"Like i said, this town hasn't had any visitors in some time. These days we're quite aware of who remains in town." She shook her head, "Such a shame to burden the youth with such harrowing troubles. Especially nice children such as yourselves. These dangerous things should be left to your elders." Pyrrha looked upon the inn keep, reaching out her hand across the counter. She placed her hand upon Abigail's, patting it reassuringly.

"I'm not so sure that is a luxury the youth can afford anymore, but rest assured that this is what we've trained for." Pyrrha paused, looking towards the staircase, "Perhaps this is better. Getting to know the true nature of this world early on gives us more time to learn how best to survive in it." Abigail looked up at Pyrrha, her eyes sad.

"Even so, no child should have to face the threat of death at your age, no matter the circumstances."

"That is why we fight together. So we can protect each other." With that Pyrrha made her way up the stairs, eager to rejoin her teammates.

Pyrrha opened the white door to their room, walking in as Nora plopped herself onto one of the two small beds inside. Jaune and Ren stood, arms crossed as they looked over at Pyrrha; beside them their bags sat next to two cots, neither cot looking to be in peak condition. It took quite a bit of insisting on Jaune and Ren's part to convince the ever-modest Pyrrha that sharing bed's wouldn't work and that she should be the one to take the other; it finally took a direct "order" from Jaune as team leader for the girl to finally accept their generosity. With bedding arrangements settled, the four quickly put away their belongings and left the building with the gear they would need for a reconnaissance of the area. The first order of business, though, was to get an understanding of their surroundings and the situation as a whole; the only way to do that was to meet the mayor in the town hall.

* * *

Jaune, as well as the other three, took note of the town's mainly concentric layout, with the residences on the outer layer and the shops and such closer in towards the town hall. They made sure to point out any areas of interest they spotted: vantage points, choke points, dead ends, escape routes. Anything that seemed like it might be useful or pertinent to combat and survival was brought up and shared. As team JNPR drew closer to the clock tower, one thing became increasingly apparent; the wall around the town was incomplete in more than a few areas, but the biggest gap was the one to the west they caught a glimpse of when entering the village. They watched as men furiously dug large trenches for others to firmly secure heavy logs in place.

"I guess we know why they were in such a hurry earlier." Pyrrha commented as they watched the two guards from earlier rush past hauling a few massive logs upon their shoulders.

"It seems they may finish before nightfall, though," Ren said, "Maybe..." Jaune continued to watch the workers, admiring their determination.

"Either way, we'll make sure to help them even without the wall." Jaune stated confidently as he began ascending the smooth slate steps of the town hall towards the large wooden doors. They entered a large brick hallway, its walls lined with benches and paintings. As they walked down it, passing underneath shimmering gold and quartz chandeliers, JNPR noticed the end of the hall opened up into a sizable auditorium filled with many tables and chairs. A large desk sat above the others towards the back, its face littered with papers and empty bottles

As JNPR made their way further into the room they noticed there was actually a man seated at the head table; he lay passed out and snoring, his face buried in his arms.

"Hey, think that's Mr. Mayor?" Nora asked, pointing a thumb at the man. "Or is it just some bum who passed out." Jaune approached the man, eyeing the half full bottle of amber liquid tightly gripped in the man's hand.

"E-Excuse me, sir?" Jaune called out, "Are you the mayor? We were told we could find him here... Hello?" Met with silence Jaune looked to his team, unsure of what to do. Ren and Pyrrha shrugged their shoulders, but Nora gave Jaune a big thumbs up before reaching behind her and grabbing Magnhild. She held it at her side, grinning as she let the massive hammer drop to the floor; the impact shook the ground with a thunderous racket, shaking a few of the glasses off the table and jolting the man awake. He supported his head in his hands while he grumbled to himself, eventually looking up at the four in a dazed confusion as he weakly scratched his disheveled hair. Jaune leaned in slightly, raising his hand; the wretched stench of alcohol permeated the air around the man.

"Hello there, sir" he offered politely. The man's eyes focused on Jaune, glaring at him. An angry rumble came from within him as he tried to speak.

"Whatever you want or need, right now I don't care." Jaune tried his best to grin cheerfully though the man's brusque words.

"Sir, are you the mayor of this town?" Jaune attempted again, receiving a callous laugh in response.

"Yeah, I am." the mayor answered, his voice deep a slurred. His breath was heavy with liquor, and he motioned towards the door with left hand still holding the bottle. "Now leave before I have you escorted out by force. I'm not gonna say it again." Jaune moved to take a seat in front of the mayor, is team shuffling to stand at his back.

"I can't do that, sir. You see, we're the team you requested from Beacon. We need to know about the attacks you've been facing. The reports didn't give us that much to... work... with..." Jaune's thought trailed off as he watched the Mayor's face turn beet red, a furious scowl forming on his face. He pointed at JNPR, his hand quivering in rage.

"Y... You're the hunters?" he said, his voice hushed and his sentence more of a statement than a question, "They sent us YOU? A bunch of CHILDREN!?" The mayor's knuckles grew white as he gripped his bottle tightly and poured himself a drink. He raised the glass, gulping back the burning liquid bitterly in one swift motion. He slammed the glass down, looking once more at the Beacon students. "We're done for."

"Alright, you son of a-!" Nora shouted, stopping as Jaune placed a hand in front of her with a shake of his head. Nora huffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. Jaune turned back to the Mayor.

"Please, sir. I assure you we're here to help, but we can't do that unless you help us here first. We need to know what you know." An eerie quiet fell over the five as the mayor began staring blankly at the table. He sat motionless, his gaze fixated on his glass. A sigh escaped his lips, and his expression softened and became sorrowful.

"They took her..." he mumbled to himself, his eyes becoming glassy. "I couldn't do a thing. I couldn't protect her." JNPR exchanged looks, befuddled by the man's nonsensical ramblings.

"It's all over." he continued morosely, pouring more alcohol into his glass while he slowly rotated his chair away from the four, "How could they. How could they send us kids to save my village. Are we worth so little? To forsake me and my people." Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"I don't think we're making much progress here." she said softly, "Perhaps we should start with our survey of the town's perimeter and surrounding area." Jaune nodded, agreeing with her assessment. As he was now, the mayor wasn't going to be much help. Jaune stood, nodding respectfully to the mayor.

"Thanks for your time, sir..." Jaune turned, his teammates following him as he made his way towards the door. The mayor turned to look back as he heard the front door slam shut, placing his glass down on the table.

"Please, let me be wrong about them."

Outside, the now risen sun shone harshly over the treetops prompting JNPR to collectively cover their eyes as their vision adjusted. The four stopped at the bottom of the stairs, glancing back at the building before looking to each other.

"What was his deal?" Nora asked, still fuming at the mayor's attitude towards them.

"Not certain," Ren replied, "But we can't afford to deal with him now. We're just going to have to get the intel ourselves." Ren gestured towards the area around them, "I think Pyrrha's right. We should survey the surrounding woods, and afterwards question some of the guards and residents.."

"That seems best." Jaune agreed, "But stay on your guard. I didn't like the way he was acting… it gave me the heebie-jeebies!"

"People still say that?" Pyrrha laughed with a smirk, lightening the mood amongst the group. Jaune could only sigh and let his head hang.

"Let's just walk around outside the town and see if we get attacked by monsters." Jaune muttered, motioning for the others to follow him as he turned and walked towards the main gate.

* * *

Jaune's plan was simple: they would all circle the town's perimeter separately, spaced apart from each other by about 50 meters going out from the town wall. The distance was enough to cover a lot of ground, but still close enough to be well within shouting distance should someone be attacked and need support.

Underneath the canopy of trees was darker than Jaune had anticipated, but there were enough breaks in the foliage to allow ample sunlight to shine though. Luckily the terrain was favorable; unlike the tall thorny brambles and thicket of the emerald forest the ground here mostly consisted of wildflowers and small shrubbery and made traversing through the forest a simple task. All four walked with their weapons ready to draw at a moment's notice, but the chance had yet to present itself.

Jaune made sure to regularly take note of the clock tower's positioning to gauge how far they'd traveled, and after a little over 30 minutes he contacted the others using his scroll and called for them to regroup on him.

"Hey guys, we've made it about halfway around the town. Find or see anything unusual?" He asked, taking a seat on a nearby log.

"I got nothing to report, boss," Nora said with a shrug of her shoulders, "No sign of the bad guys." Ren, whose position in the formation was the second farthest out under Pyrrha, spoke up has he leaned against a nearby tree.

"Same here. To be honest, the most unusual thing is the lack of anything unusual." Pyrrha nodded in agreement.

"Even as deep as I was in the forest, I could not find a single trace of any Grimm activity. Not a nest or track in sight."

Jaune scratched his cheek with a puzzled look.

"I didn't find anything either." He looked over at the town, "But I doubt these people are lying. The wall, the mayor... something is definitely going on here. The report talked about a large Grimm infestation, so they have to around here somewhere."

Jaune stood, stretching arms above his head.

"Well, we still have another half of the forest to cover." Jaune reminded, "So let's finish up. Maybe we just started on the wrong side." He received a collective nod from the other three, and soon they were back in formation and patrolling the forest.

Pyrrha scanned the ground and trees carefully, continuing the search for any signs of Grimm activity. As she walked the canopy above her became thicker and the forest floor darker. Pyrrha dismissed it at first, but after a bit it became so thick she thought it too strange. She looked up, squinting suspiciously at the canopy; there was something strange and off-putting about the way it looked. Before she could figure it out a familiar girly scream rang out through the woods and caught her attention. Pyrrha turned her head towards the sound's direction, pulling out her weapon and taking one last quick glance at the canopy before darting off.

Pyrrha broke through a group of bushes and into a small clearing, stopping as she caught sight of Ren and Nora standing both looked at her, Ren wearing an expression of disappointment as Nora covered her mouth and giggled; At their feet Jaune lay struggling, pathetically kicking his legs in an attempt to free his foot from something. Pyrrha sighed, sheathing her weapon and thankful there seemed to be no immediate danger.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, reached her hand out to help him up. The boy shot his hand out, waving them frantically.

"Wait, wait! Stop, watch your step!" he cried, pointing towards his feet, "I got stuck on something hidden under the leaves." Pyrrha backed away, eyeing the ground around him carefully. A shimmer caught her eye, and as her vision focused on it she could make out a network of nearly invisible threads lined through the ground around Jaune. From his feet they spread out a bit, snaking over and under leaves and bushes before shooting up the trees and into the canopy.

"Jaune, what are you caught in, exactly?" Pyrrha asked as he looked down towards his feet. Jaune turned, tugging his foot a few times.

"Actually, I'm not sure myself..." He reached down and pulled away the leaves and sticks revealing a small gray clump stuck to Jaune's foot; the color mixed into the mud around it, but oddly it clung to him in a manner more befitting an adhesive. Pyrrha bent down, taking a long look at it before getting back up.

"Use your sword to carefully cut that stuff off of you, Jaune. I think I know why we haven't found anything." Pyrrha turned to address the other two, "Would you guys please wait here and stand guard while Jaune gets free? I need to check something."

After getting an affirmative nod Pyrrha took off once more, this time returning to the area she had previously been scouting. This time it was not the floor but the roof of the forest that held her attention; as soon as the canopy began thickening Pyrrha leaped up to a low hanging branch to more closely inspect the tree tops. As she had suspected, the same threads that made up the trap near Jaune were here as well, and in much greater volume. In fact the entire canopy was covered in them, and from what she could see it only got denser.

The huntress dismounted to the ground gracefully, making sure not to touch any of the thread clumps. Following the webbing took her deeper into the forest, and she began noticing something bizarre: only this specific stretch of forest was affected. While the farther she went the more the substance intensified, eventually starting to coat the tree trunks and even the ground as well, it never strayed far from it's path to intrude into the rest of the forest.

Pyrrha halted, noticing that very large pods of the substance had begun to appear on the trees around her. She approached on cautiously, unprepared for what she was about to find. Inside, wrapped tightly in the threads, was a large elder Beowolf. The red haired girl readied her weapons reflexively but the creature remained still. Pyrrha lowered Milo a bit, raising an eyebrow before plunging the blade into the Grimm's shoulder. The creature stood dormant and unresponsive, but after a couple of seconds it began to dissipate. Pyrrha backed away, surprised that she had killed it so easily. Looking at the others, she could tell they too were filled with Grimm.

"Oh, boy," she exhaled, "I'd better get back and let them know what we're dealing with." She sprinted back, still mindful to watch her footing lest she end up like the Beowolf.

Pyrrha made it back to the others, drawing Ren and Nora's attention as Jaune sliced away at his still stuck feet.

"I found an elder Beowolf," she began, causing Jaune to cut more frantically as he turned towards her.

"I'M STILL STUCK DON'T LET IT GET ME!" he cried, dropping his blade in panic. Pyrrha shook her head in amusement, waving her hand in reassurance.

"No, no, it's dead now." Both Ren and Nora widened their eyes, visibly impressed.

"Wow, Pyrrha, you really are the invincible girl, huh?" Nora complimented, "How'd you manage to do it so quickly and quietly?"

"More importantly, why was it alone? Alphas always have a pack." Ren interjected.

"Well, it wasn't alone. There were quite a few Grimm all around it."

"WHAT!? You fought all those alone?" Jaune exclaimed, "Why didn't you call for backup!? That's too dangerous!" Pyrrha shook her head, putting her hands up.

"Wait, you're misunderstanding. Let me explain." Once Jaune calmed down she continued.

"The alpha, as well as every other Grimm, was wrapped up in this webbing. They were nearly dead, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say barely alive." She pulled out Milo and stuck it out towards them, "I only had to stick this into the alpha's shoulder for it to disintegrate." Jaune, finally free, stood and pointed at the gray and brown mass.

"Wait, you're telling me this is webbing? What, does this forest have a ton of spiders?"

"Well, yes and no." Pyrrha offered, "You see, I'm certain we're dealing with Arachnia."

"Arachni-what now?" Jaune asked, scratching his head as he looked at his partner.

"Arachnia," she repeated, moving over to help Jaune brush the excess webbing off himself and his gear, "Think of a spider, just the size of a man and armored on top. They're rather fast though, and..." Pyrrha stopped when she noticed the peculiar expression Jaune wore as he looked over her shoulder. Tracing his line of sight Pyrrha's eyes fell upon Ren as he stood with his back against a large tree and Stormflower at the ready. Pyrrha raised a hand in concern, frowning slightly.

"Ren, are you... okay?" Ren nodded curtly, drawing a string of giggles from Nora.

"No, you're not you liar!" Nora blurted between laughs, holding her stomach. "You're totally not!" Ren twitched, a couple beads of sweat forming by his temple. Nora shook her head.

"Ren's totally arachnophobic. It's his one weakness, basically." Nora shot a turquoise colored wink at Ren, who tried his best to ignore her.

"But Ren was totally fine with the Deathstalker! That's an arachnid." Jaune paused, looking to Pyrrha for confirmation, "Right?"

"Fine, let me rephrase." the girl sighed, "He hates spiders specifically, and these take the cake." Suddenly Ren sheathed his weapons, walking briskly towards them.

"Hey," he began, "Now that we know what we're dealing with we should probably go back to the town and ask the villagers what they know, huh?" his voice wavered a touch. Jaune looked at the boy's magenta eyes, their usual stoic demeanor now undermined by a subtle hint of trepidation.

Jaune was unsure of what to do next. Ren was obviously no longer comfortable and had a point about having to talk to the villagers, but Jaune had yet to properly scout the whole area. As if able to read his thoughts Pyrrha placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You know, Jaune, I took a good look at the area they affected and it was very specific. I doubt we'll find anything else in the rest of the forest." Somewhat relieved at her words Jaune smiled happily.

"Okay, then let's head back." Jaune could hear Ren release a quiet sigh of relief.

On the jog back, Jaune looked up at the trees.

"Hey, Pyrrha. Didn't you say the forest was covered in webs deeper in? Why can we barely see any here?" Pyrrha shrugged.

"I'm not sure why, but it doesn't really become noticeable until you get far into the forest, since most of it just looks like the canopy has thickened. Plus, the concentration dwindles considerably the closer you get to town, and the area it covers cuts a small but specific path through the woods." Pyrrha explained, making a slow chopping motion to illustrate the path, "It's no wonder the villagers are unsure where they're coming from. The path winds a lot, and even I hadn't reached the end of it before returning to you."

"So," Jaune added, "How do we beat these guys?"

"Well, I've only fought them twice during tournaments, but from those two battles I can tell you it takes a lot of force to hurt them through the armor plates covering their tops. It's not too difficult or impossible, but the most efficient way to injure them is to target their leg joints or the sides of their abdomens. If possible aim for their underbelly; it's the softest and most vulnerable spot." Pyrrha stopped talking as they reached the wall of the town, following it towards the front.

"They're fast, and will defend these spots with vigor. Despite this they're fairly easy to deal with one on one. The danger is when they're in a swarm. You can't allow yourself to be surrounded."

The four noticed they had made it not to the main entrance, but rather the large opening in the protective barrier. They walked through into town as a shortcut, receiving brief glances from the workers as they passed by. Pyrrha looked back at the hole and the forest beyond, leaning towards Jaune and whispering into his ear.

"That hole is almost perfectly lined up with the Arachnia's web path." she warned, "If they follow the path like I think they will, they'll be coming right through."

JNPR returned to the town's center square in front of the clock tower and stood around the fountain bubbling there.

"Okay, I think we should split up. Pyrrha, take Ren and go see what the villagers can tell you in the marketplace. Nora and I are gonna check out the guard's barracks and see if they can help us learn anything else."

"Sure thing," Pyrrha said, her and Ren waving before walking down an alley to the left and towards the village bazaar. Jaune huffed, glad he was starting to get the hang of being team leader. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and looked over as Nora bounced in place.

"What's up, Nora?" Jaune asked, still trying to catch his breath from the run back.

"Pyrrha said the affected web area was specific and path-like. That means their nest is at the other end of it." she clenched her fists in front of her, "They're definitely going to be coming from that direction, and they will only leave their webs when they need to; that's where they're most agile, so they prefer to stay there."

Nora eyed Jaune as he stuck up a finger.

"Wait, but there were almost no webs leading directly to town. Does that mean they won't attack tonight?" Nora shook her head.

"No, the town and people will draw them in," she interrupted Jaune before he could talk again, "Before you ask, they probably won't spread out through the forest either. Outside of webs and not engaged with prey they tend to take very linear paths."

Jaune scratched the back of his head, impressed with the girl's extensive knowledge.

"How do you know so much about them?" Nora smiled, putting her hands out at her sides playfully.

"Since they're Ren's mortal enemy, I made sure to study up on them."

"Anything else you could tell me about them?" Nora thought for a moment, looking to the side as she tried to remember anything else.

"Well, there's two things I can think of that may be helpful." she stuck up her pointer finger.

"The first is that, while they're good climbers, they're more likely to stay on the ground than climb, if they can." She raised another finger, tilting her head, "The second is that they're not too fond of bright lights or excessive heat. Fire works well against them if used right." Nora's turquoise eyes lit up as she recalled something.

"OH! I just remembered something important!" She lowered her head dramatically, drawing Jaune in close.

"They... can... FLY!" Jaune reeled back, astounded at her absurd declaration.

"Are you serious!?" Jaune asked incredulously. Nora covered her mouth, laughing haughtily.

"You're so gullible, Jaune. Of course they can't fly, silly." Jaune's sigh of relief was cut off by the girl suddenly raising a finger at him, "But they will use their webs as a weapon during combat, and enough of it will cause paralytic effects."

"O-oh, okay thanks." he acknowledged, "This is all really helpful Nora! It'll be a lot easier to plan out a defensive strategy knowing what I'm dealing with. Thanks a ton, Nora!" The girl beamed, embracing Jaune in a massive hug; Jaune could hear his bones cracking as she squeezed. She finally set him down, looking him in the eyes.

"One more thing, Jaune." she said as the boy recovered, "Could you place Ren towards the back? He really doesn't do well with these guys, so I don't want him to be in the middle of it all if he doesn't have to." Nora's concern for her partner was a warming sight to Jaune, and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Nora, I'll make sure he's okay."

"Yay! Thanks Jauney!" she exclaimed with a twirl, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see if those guys closing the big hole are gonna be done in time!" she waved as she ran off, "I'll get back to you later!"

"A-alright!" Jaune stuttered, "I guess I'll head to the guard's barracks alone to talk to them... alone." Jaune chuckled nervously to himself and watched the orange haired girl skip towards the opposite end of town before he turned towards his destination and began walking.

* * *

 **AN: "ReasonableName, how are you going to continue keeping the story kinda canon with the apparent truth that came with the end of Vol. 3?" Easy. Don't worry about it.**

 **The reason we haven't really updated was due to us waiting for Vol. 3 to finish up. We needed to see how that turned out in order to get a sense of where we wanted to take our story since so much was added. Safe to say, our original plot had to take more than a few turns.**

 **My Tumblr is "ReasonableName" and that's where you can get the most up-to-date info on Memoria and BU.** **From here on forward we will be uploading more consistently, with at least one #beefy chapter a month. That's not to say there wont be more than one, but it'll vary.** **I have lots of stuff on my plate as does my editor (like building a house in ARK: Survival Evolved) so don't expect weekly updates. Just check Tumblr every now and then for snippets, updates and ETAs.**

 **If you liked the chapter, please follow, fave or write a review. We love reviews, even PMs, and I can guarantee reviews give us more determination! (Aka more substantial revs will probably make us pump chapters out faster... last time we ask for them, promise.)**

 **Okay bye, see you in next chapter.**


End file.
